Hold On For Your Life
by OverTheLuna
Summary: Since his return to work after Harvey's shooting, Nick Barron and all those close to him have been targeted. Now, with the death of his sister, he thought his ordeal was finally over. But when his loved ones are forced to fight for their lives, will Nick be able to hold on and finally overcome this threat? Set after end of Season 3, AU for Season 4.
1. Running

Hold On For Your Life

Summary: Since his return to work after Harvey's shooting, Nick Barron and all those close to him have been targeted. Now, with the death of his sister, he thought his ordeal was finally over. But when his loved ones are forced to fight for their lives, will Nick be able to hold on and finally overcome this threat? Set after end of Season 3, AU for Season 4.

Disclaimer: I only own my own plotlines, nothing that has been featured on the show. Just a dedicated fan who thinks there isn't enough fic for this fandom!

Chapter One

Isabelle shivered as she walked from the station, pulling the lapels of her coat tighter around her. Autumn was giving way to winter now, and a Canadian winter was never an easy one to endure, especially when the Metro was the only option to get home after an evening shift.

The brunette sighed with frustration, a regular occurrence of late, when she recalled the reason her car was currently sat in a very expensive garage awaiting repair. Theo had been due to go on a cinema visit with Guillaume and when her work schedule left her unavailable to drop him into town, the boy had taken it upon himself to drive down in her car, illegally. It had been an embarrassing one to explain to the insurance, that a grown woman had slammed her car into a street lamp, but it was better than Theo facing charges for underage driving. The memory of his last night in a police cell remained a fresh wound in her mind; she would not risk getting him into trouble again, for fear that she would not be able to protect him from the consequences.

As she rounded another corner, Isabelle cursed her stubborn refusal to call a cab. It would have been much easier, quicker and warmer to do, but money was so restricted now that she did not allow herself even such small luxuries without a valid reason. A short walk to the Metro was a better option, she had decided; a decision she was beginning to regret.

Still, she persevered, smiling at the distant sight of the lights at the Metro's entrance. ' _Not long now.'_ she told herself, feeling like a parent reassuring their child a long journey was coming to an end. She picked up her pace slightly, the goal in sight encouraging her further. It was only then that she heard the crunch of footsteps behind her. Someone was following her.

At first, Isabelle dismissed the idea. As a detective, she tended to over-analyse situations, her mind never quite being able to escape the pressures of her job; she was probably making something out of nothing. Still, she increased her pace once again. And heard the footsteps do the same.

It was only too easy for someone to follow another down a street and so Isabelle turned into a nearby park, one she was very familiar with, in the hope that her assailant would not be. It had been years since Isabelle had been a patroller and over time she had become far more accustomed to studying psychological patterns of behaviour than making quick decisions in dangerous situations.

"Detective!" the man called out to her and Isabelle felt her blood run cold. He must have seen her police badge; that badge had always offered her protection, and now she could not shake the feeling she was being targeted for it. "Don't run away, Detective!"

Isabelle's whole body seemed to be trembling as she picked up the pace once again, feeling her feet slipping against the icy grass. One false move and she would fall. God only knew what would happen to her then. Instinctively she reached into her pocket, trying to keep her movements as small as possible. She would not be able to make a call, that would be too obvious, but at least she could do something.

"Isabelle!" the man shouted, louder now, and Isabelle's fear was setting in further now. She tried to tell herself to be calm, to keep the haze of panic from taking over her mind, but it was not enough. Police instincts were little use to her when she was on the other side of the crime.

The light of the next Metro station was coming into view in the distance, just far enough away to be more taunting than hopeful. At that moment, Isabelle began to run, not caring if her feet would go out from under her. ' _He's going to catch me anyway, he's moving faster. I might as well take the chance I've got.'_

She managed only a few steps before a blow to her head brought her to her knees, her ears ringing and her vision blurring. The cold was unbearable, lying on the ground, enough to drain the fight out of her. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to force them to focus; she was barely able to see the man taking her bag, or resist him pulling the coat from her shoulders. ' _Oh God,'_ she managed to think. ' _I'm going to die here.'_

Her first thought, naturally, was of Theo. Her darling son, too old to be a child, but far too young to have to suffer the loss of a parent. He was barely older than Nick was, when his father disappeared; the last thing she wanted was for him to have to suffer the same fate.

Then her mind turned to Nick, the feelings far less defined as they spun through her head. All they had been through over the last couple of years, the lies, the fighting, the piece of paper that separated what only death was meant to draw to a close. And yet, lying here, her shivers becoming less and less pronounced, Isabelle could not help but wish he was by her side.

Even the very blood in her veins seemed to turn to ice, flowing thickly, like treacle. It was becoming harder and harder to keep her eyes open, but Isabelle fought against her weakness, reaching her hand into her suit jacket pocket, allowing her phone to fall out onto the snow. She pressed one button, then another, using all her strength to do so.

She could only endure a few moments longer, before her hand fell weak to the ground. She could see her hand trembling lightly, the skin barely distinguishable from the snow-covered grass below. That movement gave her a little hope. There was still time, still a chance.

It was almost a relief when her eyes drifted closed, her head falling back onto the ground. At least that way she was not forced to see the tremor slow to a stop.

A/N: Not the best opening chapter I've ever done, but 19-2 is quite tricky to write description for. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first venture into this fandom and please review!


	2. Instincts

Chapter Two

A/N: No reviewers.

Nick tapped the screen to end the call, sighing deeply. All he wanted at the end of a difficult double shift was to return home, relax on the couch and crack open a beer. It seemed that, once again, this was proving too much to ask.

"Who was that?" Ben questioned, glancing away from the road out of the corner of his eye.

"Theo." Nick answered, trying not to grit his teeth. It was not the boy's fault, he was just trying to do the right thing. "He wants me to go and pick up Isabelle after the end of my shift. He's feeling guilty."

"What, because he crashed the car?" Nick had ranted for the better part of an hour about his son's irresponsible driving, the morning after Isabelle called to tell him.

"Yeah." his partner answered, his teeth gritted. "She's got to do a half hour on the Metro to get home, in the middle of the night."

"Yikes." Ben winced, turning the corner onto another busy street. They were following the routine all officers did when coming to the end of an evening shift, driving as close to the station as physically possible so that they could clock off the minute 10:30 rolled around. "Are you going to get her?"

"Yeah, I should." Nick reasoned, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "I know Theo was the one who messed up, but it's too late for her to be getting a Metro on her own. I'd rather ground my son and make sure Isabelle's home safe."

Ben nodded his agreement and the conversation ebbed back into silence, only broken by the ring of Nick's phone alarm a few minutes later. The two shared a knowing smile as Ben revolved the wheel, reversing into a driveway and back out again, heading for the station to clock off for the night.

Half an hour later, Nick emerged from the police station, his backpack thrown over his shoulder and his car keys swinging in his hand. He had worked a double shift, including apprehending several gang members trying to rob an electronics store, and he was having to blink every few seconds just to keep his eyes open. ' _It won't take too long to pick up Issy, you'll be home in an hour.'_ he reminded himself, as he turned the key to start the engine.

"Hey, Nick, wait up!" Ben called out, raising his hand to flag down his partner before he drove away. The blonde man jogged up to the open window. "I know it's late, but could you drop me off on the way to Isabelle's? It's just that my apartment's on route to her house and I left my car at home. Didn't think we'd be working two shifts tonight."

Nick sighed. At this rate, he would be home past midnight, a thought that was almost enough to make him drive away. Almost. "Hop in."

The silence between them was a little more uncomfortable in Nick's truck than it was in the squad car, the familiarity of their relationship as partners changed when they were outside the station. Although the two got along fairly well now, there was a gaping hole in the bond they had formed. The death of Amelie had destroyed them both and it had weakened their relationship on the outside beyond comprehension.

It took almost half an hour to reach Isabelle's station, even with the thin traffic of a late Thursday night. Nick cursed Gendron under his breath, a familiar pastime. He was certain the slimy commander was involved in Isabelle being transferred so far away, just as he had been involved in getting her fired. His ex-wife had never actually admitted that part, but it was not difficult to deduce. After all, it was Gendron who was at fault for not catching the leak and the man would do anything to save his own skin.

For a building that was structurally identical to Poste 19, it was astounding how different Isabelle's new workplace felt. Although it was a different place to work, 19 had an atmosphere similar to a family home. Reprimands and rewards took place beneath the same roof, the air filled with support, trust, even love. This station just felt cold. It was a workplace, nothing more.

"Hi." Nick greeted the police officer at the help desk. The woman barely managed a smile. "I'm looking for Isabelle Latendresse. I'm giving her a lift home after her shift ends."

"She already left." the woman responded, scarcely looking up from her records page. For such significant news, she could not have delivered it in a blander tone.

"Excuse me?" Nick asked, as if he could have heard her wrong. Being a police officer had trained him in hearing details perfectly first time, but he did not feel like a police officer when it came to Isabelle. Their relationship may be more professional than personal of late, but she was Theo's mother, she had been his wife. She had been more than a police partner since the first night they met.

"The guy she was interviewing is notorious." the officer explained, looking a little more alert than she had done before. Instinct was another essential element of police life, one even tiredness could not quite dull. "He's committed crimes all over the place, we've been trying to catch him for months. We expected a marathon interview session, but he just… confessed. Just like that. I think he finally got tired of running."

"How long ago did she leave?" Nick had barely listened to the story about the young man. He had seen thousands of criminals throughout his time as a police officer, grew up in a sea of them in Little Burgundy. Each one had their own reasons, each case had a different sentence, a different outcome. If he tried to carry all but a select few with him outside the station, he would never feel happy again.

"It must have been an hour, maybe a little more." the woman informed him, glancing at the watch on her wrist. Nick felt his heart sink. It was a trek back to Isabelle's house on the Metro, but it should not have taken anywhere near this long. If she had left at ten o'clock- the desk officer read the time from her chart- she would have already been at home by the time his shift ended. Surely Theo would have called, or Isabelle herself.

Nick made his way back to his car, fighting his instinct to take the journey at a run. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones. Something had happened to Isabelle.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's kind of weird to be watching Season 4 play out as I'm writing this, because I'm not writing in canon with those events (J.M. fans rejoice!), but it's made me keener than ever to write this one. Hope I'll be able to update soon. Please review!


	3. Home Screen

Chapter Three

A/N: No reviewers.

"Nick, slow down!" Ben called out, pressing his palm against the window glass as his partner cut a street corner a little too closely. The man beat his palm against the steering wheel in frustration, but obeyed, pulling the car to a halt in a bus bay. The buses did not run this late, not outside the heart of the city- yet another reason Isabelle had had to face the Metro journey alone in the dark.

"I know something's happened to her, Ben." Nick sighed, his usually commanding voice quiet and vulnerable. "I can feel it."

"You don't know, you think." Ben argued back. "Your instincts aren't always right, Nick. Anyway, for all you know, she could be back home by now. Maybe one of the lines was closed and she had to get another train?"

Nick nodded, although they both knew none of the Metro lines were closed that night. Public transport schedules were one of the least interesting parts of police life, and the man had never hated them more than at that moment. The last piece of hope he had was slipping away.

"Try calling her." Ben suggested. It was a route Nick had already taken three times over, but he dialled the number all the same, holding the phone to his ear. The line seemed to ring for minutes on end, before it was replaced with Isabelle's voice. It was a very corporate message, calm and emotionless. It sounded nothing like Isabelle; not the Isabelle he knew, anyway.

Nick threw the phone down onto his lap, groaning in frustration. "Nothing. It's ringing, but she's not picking up."

"Have you tried the house?" Ben pressed further. For some reason, he seemed more eager for a simple resolution than Nick. "If she got home she might not be listening for her cell anymore. She's clocked off for the night and anyone calling her for personal would call the landline."

"I guess it's worth a shot." Nick reasoned, picking the gadget up from where it rested screen down on his thigh. This time, the dial tone only sounded three times and the man's heart swelled with relief when he heard a voice at the end of the line. That is, until he realised it was not hers.

"Hello?" Theo called, confused by the silence. "Dad, is that you?"

"Hey, kid." Nick finally summoned the strength to speak. He could not frighten his son. He had to find a way to ask him gently. "Did your mom get a chance to call you in the end?"

"What are you talking about?" Theo sounded even more confused now. A burning sensation was rising in Nick's throat. "I haven't talked to her since she left this morning. Why would I need to?"

' _She isn't at home.'_ Nick realised with a sick turn of his stomach. If she was not at home, not at work and not answering her cell phone, then what on earth had happened to her?

It was Theo who pulled him from his reverie, the boy's usually confident voice marred by tremors. He was trying to be brave, and failing. ' _No wonder, when his mother's gone missing. I can't let him stay like this. I've got to do something.'_

"That's okay." Nick stated, trying to sound nonchalant. It was a near impossible task, when his heart was beating so fiercely in his chest. "I thought she would have called you herself but I guess she didn't have time. The case she's working on is going to go late, she wanted to give you a heads-up so you're still awake to let her in."

"Yeah, that's cool." Theo replied. He had never heard the boy sound so relieved in all his life. But it was not happiness he felt at being the cause of it; it was guilt.

They hung up not long after that, Theo keen to get back to whatever video game he had been in the middle of playing. It clearly had not occurred to him that something may have happened to his mother. It was a blissful ignorance Nick could not help but wish for.

"Why did you lie?" Ben asked, seeming vaguely frustrated with his partner's behaviour. Nick avoided his eye, not in the mood for a lecture from the golden boy. "Why couldn't you just tell him you don't know where she's gone?"

Nick did not answer, scrolling through the messages on his phone. Perhaps if he watched them for long enough, Isabelle's location would just appear to him. His patience lasted only a few seconds before he gave up.

"Now what?" Nick asked bitterly, staring blankly at the home screen. That was when he saw it. Ben jumped as he sat bolt upright, tapping wildly on the screen, breathing as heavily as if he had run a marathon. "Come on, Issy. Please, come on."

Nick could have cried at the wonderful sight that greeted him. True, Isabelle was a detective, but she had been a beat cop for a long time first. She knew what to do if something happened to her; how her friends could trace her.

"She's turned on location on her phone." Nick explained, already pulling the car out into the empty road. He threw the gadget to Ben with a spare hand. "Directions, Bambi."

It was only a few minutes before they reached that tiny dot, its insistent flashing a beacon of hope for the two partners.

"She's somewhere close." Ben reasoned, as Nick hastily parked the car by the curb. "It's an open space, not a street. She's stationary."

"There's a park over there." Nick exclaimed, trying to restrain himself from running to the space. He had to see her, had to know what had happened. It was the ignorance that was making the situation so much more difficult to take.

It took only seconds for them to reach the park, but those seconds felt like years.

"She's got to be here," Ben reassured his partner, watching the GPS dot intently as they moved closer to it. "We should be able to see her from here, it looks like she's only…"

Ben trailed off as he looked to Nick's face, seeing the horror written in his eyes. It took only another moment for him to realise why.

Nick's heart seemed to freeze in his chest, the beats irregular as he took in the awful sight before him. He had seen countless victims during his time as a police officer, from burnings and shootings, helpless elderly and innocent children. None of those sights had shocked him right to his core, not like this.

At the far end of the open space ahead, lying still on the snow-covered ground like an abandoned doll, was Isabelle.

A/N: I'm going to try to get another chapter up before the final episode next week! Fingers crossed! Please review!


	4. Sirens

Chapter Four

A/N: No reviewers.

Nick fell to his knees in the snow, the force of the movement sending flakes of white flying up into the air around him, joining the intricate dance above his head. It seemed so ironic, to find such beauty in the aftermath of something so terrible.

The sight of Isabelle was far worse at close range, her skin so pale that she might have blended into the frozen ground beneath her, had it not been for her dark brown hair and the flimsy suit jacket that was her only protection from the elements.

"Is she breathing?" Ben asked abruptly, kneeling at Isabelle's other side and taking her wrist to feel for a pulse. Nick was almost grateful for his bluntness. At least Ben was able to deal with this like a cop.

Nick leaned over the woman, listening close above her face. "Barely. What do we do now? How- how can we help her?"

"It's okay." It was a brief reassurance, but enough to calm the haze of terror overtaking Nick's mind. "Country cop, remember? Trust me, I've seen hypothermia a lot more out in the sticks than you've seen it in Montreal."

"Hypothermia." Even the word sent a shiver down Nick's spine. He might not have dealt with many cases of it, but he knew the consequences well enough.

Ben nodded gravely. "It's bad. Nick, we need to get her back to your car quick. Her clothes are soaked; they're going to kill her in this weather."

Nick was quick to move, wrapping his arms around Isabelle's back and lifting her, only slowing when Ben warned him against jostling her too much. The walk to the car seemed impossibly long, as Nick watched his ex-wife's face intently for any sign of change, though it could only have taken a minute at most. The dial tone from Ben's cell seemed impossibly loud as Nick placed Isabelle across the back seat, the only sound in the silent street.

"My name's Ben Chartier, I'm an off-duty officer at 19. We've got another off-duty officer down, severe hypothermia. We need an ambulance to Maisonneuve Park." Ben's voice was shaking as he tried to relay the details of the situation. Whether it was from the cold or the shock, Nick could not tell.

"Thank you, Officer Chartier, the ambulance will be on its way." The voice of the dispatcher was somewhat comforting, though the exact tone was unfamiliar. "Can you ID the officer?"

"Isabelle Latendresse, Detective Sergeant." Ben answered quickly. "She works for…"

"44." Nick filled in quickly, seeing his partner's confusion. Ben nodded his thanks.

"That's great, thank you." the dispatcher responded. "Ambulance should be with you in five minutes."

"Thank you." Ben sighed, clicking off his radio and returning his attention to the limp woman on the back seat of Nick's truck. "We need to get her clothes off, wrap her in some blankets to try and bring her temperature up. Might be better if you handled this."

"Better for who?" Nick muttered, looking at Ben as if he had sprouted a second head. "She's my ex-wife, I'm probably the last person she wants 'handling this'."

"I can do it if you want." Ben suggested. In any other situation, he might have smirked. Nick sighed deeply.

"No, I got it." And the look was gone as he set about his task, stripping the water-drenched clothes from Isabelle's body. It was far more difficult than he had first thought, the water causing the garments to cling to the woman's skin as if they were grafted onto her. By the time he had her safely wrapped in blankets, adding his own jacket for good measure, the sirens of the ambulance were fast approaching.

It was as if everything was moving in slow motion, and all Nick could do was let Ben pull him to the side, let the paramedics do their jobs. Nick had never understood the white shirts, their ability to just watch while things fell apart around them. He would rather be the one unconscious on a stretcher. At least then he would not have to watch it.

"They'll look after her, man, they know what they're doing." Ben's hand was still resting on his partner's shoulder, but the weight was barely noticeable alongside the guilt that weighed down on him.

"I should never have let her take the Metro in the first place." Nick sighed, watching as Isabelle's limp body was lifted into the ambulance. He had never seen her so still. "It was too dangerous."

"She's a grown woman, Nick, you don't _let_ her do anything." Ben argued, with the confidence he seemed to hold in every argument. "And knowing Isabelle, it would have been worse if you'd tried."

Nick barely managed a chuckle, his eyes fixed on the ambulance. "I have to go with her. I can't leave her alone."

"Of course you can't." Ben nodded. He gestured back towards the road, where the car doors were still flung wide open. "You go with her. I'll drive your car up to the hospital."

Nick quickly patted Ben on the shoulder in thanks, then ran towards the ambulance, clambering into the seat beside his ex-wife. Stray locks of her hair were falling across her face and Nick had to restrain himself from brushing it away. It was the sort of thing he would have done years ago, before it all went wrong, a simple gesture of affection. ' _She wouldn't want my affection now.'_ Nick reminded himself. It was still painful to think that way, but it was the truth.

Still, he could not stop himself from leaning over her, whispering reassurances just loud enough that he could be sure she had heard. If she could hear anything at all.

"Don't worry, Issy, you're going to be okay." Nick professed, wishing those words alone could make it true. "You're strong enough to get through this, and when you do, I'm not going to let anything happen to you again, I swear."

Isabelle had showed promise as a detective long before she had undertaken the role, and he had never once been able to lie to her without being caught. The fact that she did not instantly tell him the futility of his words offered him hope, for the woman had never missed an opportunity to do that. ' _I just have to wait until she wakes up.'_ Nick told himself, repeating the words over and over. ' _Then she'll be sure to tell me I made a load of stupid decisions. And I can't wait for that, as soon as she's okay.'_

But no matter how many times he tried to think positive, he could not help the awful word from coming to the front of his mind once more.

If.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed guys! Please review!


	5. Waiting

Chapter Five

A/N: Thank you so much to Guest for being my first reviewer!

Nick hated hospitals. He always had done. Hospitals made him think of shootings and assaults, a person's life destroyed because of someone else's hatred. They made him think of Theo and his football scrapes, Audrey after her attack, Harvey when they did not think he would live through the night. Now, as he nursed a cup of long-cold coffee, he could not help the feeling that his cursed experiences of hospitals would not end soon.

Isabelle had been rushed away by paramedics before Nick had a chance to step out of the ambulance, wheeled along the twisting corridors of the hospital until she was out of sight. Her ex-husband never had a chance to protest; or, God forbid, to say goodbye.

Ben arrived shortly afterwards, handing over the keys to his partner without meeting his eye. He could feel the heaviness in the air around them, the despair the seasoned officer felt at the condition of the woman that had played such a huge part in his life.

"Have they told you anything?" the younger man asked, taking a seat on one of the hard plastic chairs.

Nick shook his head. "No one's come to find me. They took her away as soon as we got here, I haven't heard anything since. Don't whether I should be glad about that or not. At least it means she's not dead."

"Nick, we did everything we could." Ben assured him. "The steps we took were her best chance of survival. She'll put through."

"Yeah." Nick agreed, but he did not sound anything other than tired. It was one o'clock in the morning. On a normal day, he would have to be up for his shift in five hours. God, how he wished this was a normal day. "I'm going to stay here. I don't want to be too far if something happens."

"Of course, yeah." Ben nodded, but his jaw was clenched. It was a rather irritating expression he only wore when he was considering whether or not to question someone. It took another minute or so before he turned to Nick, small lines furrowing his brow. "Do you think you should call Theo?"

"No." Nick stated, not bothering to take the time to consider it. He had thought about little else since Isabelle had been taken away, wondering what he would say to the boy if anything went wrong. "I don't want to worry him. He thinks Issy's going to be late back anyway and for all we know, she might be fine by then."

"Nick, she won't be fine by then!" Ben insisted. Nick tried to soften the look of panic on his face as his partner continued. "Hypothermia this bad, you're looking at least a week serious recovery time, and that's if there's no complications. How are you going to manage to keep that quiet? He lives with her!"

"Look, I'll think of something, alright?!" Nick exclaimed. He did not have the energy to have this debate, not now. All the fight had drained from him, as he slumped further in his chair. "I just don't want to worry him. Not yet. I don't want him to have to feel like I'm feeling."

"It must be terrifying." Ben sighed, leaning past Nick to where a nurse had left the doors to the emergency room. She turned in the other direction from where they sat, and he leaned back again. "But I tell you what will be worse. If Theo sits there until morning without hearing anything from either of you. You don't have to tell him everything that happened if you don't want, but you've got to tell him something."

After a deep, pain-filled sigh, Nick pulled his phone from his pocket, quickly scrolling through the contacts list to find his son's cell number. Unlike Isabelle, the boy never kept his phone far from his side, another hallmark of his youth.

"Hey, Dad." Theo sounded a little more tired than the last time they had spoken, but otherwise, he seemed the same. His world had not yet been turned upside down.

"Hi, son." Nick responded, his throat crackling. If he could barely manage to get through those words, he could not imagine how he would face the next few minutes. "Listen, I've been to the station to pick up your mom and… and…"

"How long do you think you'll be?" Theo cut across, with the kind of brashness that gave away he still had his headphones in one ear. He seemed so innocent, not even suspecting that his mother lay unconscious in a hospital bed.

Nick sighed again. It seemed to him that the only thing he had done that night was sigh. "When I got there, she sent me off again. Said her case is going to be an all-nighter, she wants you to get to bed. You're going to have to get the bus to school in the morning."

"Cool." Theo answered nonchalantly.

"Oh, and remember to bring your weekend bag." Nick specified quickly. "You're coming straight to mine after school for the weekend."

"Yeah, I know, Dad." The boy was becoming a little edgy now, probably a result of the war games he was playing on his console. Both of his parents loathed the games- they had spent their working lives on that end of the gun- but this was not the time to criticise. "Can I go now?"

"Yeah. Bye." Nick hung up the call, keeping his eyes on the screen even once Theo was gone. It was easier than seeing Ben's judging eyes watching him. He answered his partner's question before it was asked. "I'll tell him tomorrow. We'll know more then, and I want him to get some sleep. There's no point him worrying tonight if he can't do anything about it."

Ben did not answer, soon after departing for his apartment. Nick checked his watch. The younger man would only get three hours of sleep at the most. It was more than he would.

Leaning his heavy head against the wall, the man watched the door to the emergency room. He did not know really what he wanted to see. Perhaps a doctor bearing good news, a nurse with another cup of coffee; perhaps even Isabelle herself, tired and bruised but alive. But by the time his eyes drifted shut, nearly an hour later, the door had remained closed.

A/N: I know Nick is quite straight-talking, but I also think he wouldn't want to worry Theo when he didn't know what was happening. Hope you enjoyed and please review!


	6. Family

Chapter Six

A/N: Thank you to cowboy12 for reviewing the last chapter.

Police instincts were often more a curse than a blessing, and when Nick was woken by a hand shaking his shoulder, he had to fight the urge to reach for his gun. It was not a criminal come to attack them. It was a kindly-looking nurse, who looked just as tired as he surely did.

"Mr. Barron?" she asked. Blinking the bleariness from his eyes, Nick nodded, slowly pulling himself to his feet. "Have you been here all night?"

"Yeah." the man stated, his voice a little sharper than it should have been, given the woman was only trying to do her job. "How is she?"

"She's stable now." the nurse answered. The distinction was not lost on Nick, but truthfully, he had been expecting it. Besides, it was enough of a relief to know she was out of danger. "We've got her under constant observation, in case anything changes, but there's been no change since the early hours. I was wondering if you wanted to go home, get some proper sleep."

"No, I should be here." Nick protested. The idea of leaving Isabelle, being out of reach if something went wrong, made him sick to his stomach. "I mean, what if she relapses? Hypothermia's not the most stable thing at the best of times, as far as I know."

"It isn't," the nurse conceded. "But we have everything under control. We have your mobile number, we'll call you as soon as anything changes. Isabelle won't be awake for a little while yet, her body is trying to heal itself. I'd get the rest while you still have the chance."

Nick shook his head gently. Though his eyes were drooping closed at that very moment, he could not go home. Waiting there for news would drive him even more mad than waiting here.

"I guess I could go to work." the man suggested, with a stiff shrug. The nurse opened her mouth, as if to convince him otherwise, but he cut her off before she had the chance. "I've got to do something. Just until she wakes up."

"Alright, then." the woman sighed, seeing she had met her match in the officer's stubbornness. "Well, like I said, we'll call if there's any change."

"Anything." Nick stated, his hard tone reinforcing the promise she was making to him. The nurse smiled sympathetically, then nodded.

The drive to Poste 19 seemed so much longer that day, the hospital being quite a way across town from his own police district. And of course, it did not help that Nick paused at every junction, every red light, wondering if he should turn back and reclaim his seat in the waiting area. ' _There's no point.'_ he told himself every time. ' _She won't be awake yet, they'd have called you if anything changed. At least this way you can do something.'_

The daily briefing was almost over by the time Nick slipped through the door, to the confusion of most of his colleagues. Only Ben did not share in their silent judgement; the previous night haunted his mind almost as much as it did his partner's.

"Sorry." Nick muttered, prompting Sergeant Suarez to continue his list of bulletins, though he did so with a hard stare in the direction of the latecomer.

"What happened?" came a whisper from over Nick's left shoulder. Audrey.

He waved her off, continuing to watch his sergeant, although the man's words were all blurring into one. This was not the time or the place for that conversation, even if the squad did have a right to know. Isabelle had been one of them not long ago, after all.

When Suarez finally completed his briefing, retreating into the kitchenette to make himself a coffee, almost the whole squad was looking to Nick for an explanation. He took a deep breath, steadying himself for his own announcement. Of course, he would prefer to tell people individually, to not have to see all their reactions at once, but once he recounted the events once, he did not know if he could find the strength to do it again.

"Okay, guys, listen up a minute." Nick called, trying to catch the squad's attention. It was a useless gesture really; only Suarez had not been looking at him already. "I thought you guys all had a right to know. Last night, an off-duty officer got attacked in 44. They got mugged and left out unconscious in the snow. We still don't know who the mugger is, 'cause the officer hasn't woken up."

Try as he might, Nick could not make himself say those three syllables that would make the situation real for those around him. Luckily, Ben had seen his discomfort, and he completed the story himself. "It was Isabelle."

A quiet gasp echoed throughout the room. It was Tyler that spoke first. "What, our Isabelle?"

Nick nodded sadly. The room had fallen silent around him now, the officers all in different stages of disbelief. However, that disbelief was magnified tenfold when J.M. piped up. "So, we going to find this guy? I mean, you said they never caught him, so we can get on that, right?"

"It's not our district, Brouillard. We don't get involved." Suarez stated, his voice firm. Audrey and Ben looked up at him in anguish, but Nick had known it was coming. The sergeant did not know Isabelle, after all; why would he care who solved the case?

"Sarge…" Bear pleaded, but Suarez was soon gone, the trail of steam in his wake the only evidence he had been there at all. There was no convincing the man, not now.

"So, where do we start looking?" Audrey asked, turning to Nick. She had the smallest hint of a smile on her face, which grew even wider when she saw Nick's confusion. "She's one of us. Even if she moved districts, she's still part of 19. And we're not going to let anyone get away with hurting one of us. I mean, you guys didn't with me, right?"

"Right." Bear agreed, though she still seemed uncomfortable. With so much responsibility she shouldered herself- picking up the slack from Tyler and taking on the role of Acting Sergeant after the Houle disaster- Bear was always a little reluctant to break the rules. But this was different. This was family.

Nick glanced around the room, the only support system he had known throughout the years, Isabelle aside. He should never have doubted that they would risk anything to protect their own; after all, he would do the same for many of them. And had done.

"Well, we've got a mugger in 44." Nick stated, just about managing to catch his breath. "So I guess we start there."

A/N: What I love about 19 is that the squad sticks together no matter what, and I think even J.M. would be a bit shaken to hear Isabelle had been attacked and left for dead. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!


	7. First

Chapter Seven

A/N: No reviewers.

It was almost the end of a brutally long shift when Nick felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. His heart began to race as he took a hand off the wheel, throwing the phone to Ben in the passenger seat. He gave his partner a pointed nod before he turned his attention back to the road. It was easy to pretend the busy highway was the reason he did not want to answer the call, and not the panic rising in his chest.

"Nick Barron's phone." Ben answered, trying to sound light-hearted. It was quite difficult to achieve, when he was almost as nervous as his partner. "No, he's driving at the moment. I'm Ben Chartier, his police partner. I'm right here next to him, if you want me to give him the message."

Ben was silent for the next thirty seconds or so, listening carefully to the message for him to relay. Every few seconds, he would nod or make a hum of acknowledgement just to give Nick some reassurance. It was a well-meaning gesture, but a useless one, because if anything, the older man worried even more.

"Okay, thank you very much." Ben finally stated, tapping the end call button and placing the gadget in the glovebox. The second before he spoke felt like an hour. "Isabelle's awake."

Nick could not help the laugh of relief that spilled from his lips. For a few seconds, everything in the world seemed golden. But the fear rose in his heart again, this wonderful news opening the door for another multitude of problems. True, Isabelle was awake, the news he had been waiting for all through that terrible day, the news that finally made the minutes seem like minutes again, and not hours. But 'awake' did not mean 'alright'- that was another battle entirely.

The halls of the hospital were bustling with people, a comforting contrast to the last time he had waited there. He did not jump at every sound, thinking it might be a nurse come to give him the awful news he could not bear to hear. But he would not be hearing it now, and that was encouraging enough to calm his racing heart.

"Mr. Barron." A nurse stood over him, the same nurse he had seen that morning. She seemed a little less tired than she had done earlier, though she seemed to have been working in the emergency ward ever since. Perhaps it was the relief of having good news to tell instead of bad.

"Hi." Nick greeted, smiling a genuine smile this time. "I got a call from you a couple of hours ago, I was on a shift."

"I understand." The woman smiled in return. "You haven't missed anything, really. The doctor is with her now, carrying out some tests, so it might be best if you waited here a while."

Nick frowned a little. "I thought all the tests had been done last night? When I phoned at lunch, they told me her vitals had all come through fine."

"Sorry, I should have been a little clearer." the nurse corrected herself. "All her physical tests have been completed, her vitals _are_ fine- pulse a little weak, but that's to be expected. The physical effect of her ordeal is starting to wear off; we just need to evaluate the mental effects."

"What do you mean, mental effects?" Nick asked, though he was halfway sure he knew already. He just needed to hear someone confirm the new fear that had taken root in his mind.

"Prolonged exposure to low temperatures can lead to the functions of the brain shutting down." the nurse explained, her factual tone quite comforting, even when the subject matter was less than uplifting. "It's the last line of defence to fall before death, and given the way Isabelle has been behaving since she's been awake, it's unlikely there's been any severe functional damage. The main worry now is memory; that's what the doctor is testing now."

"So, there's a risk she might not remember what happened?" Nick pressed. This time, he did not wait for the nurse to correct him. "Or that she might not remember… at all?"

"We'll know more in half an hour or so." the woman responded, in lieu of a proper answer. "Just give the doctor a chance to work with her."

The nurse had already begun to walk away by the time Nick convinced himself to speak again, raising his hand as if he were a child in a classroom once again. "Can I be with her? I mean, while the test is going on?"

"Mr. Barron, I don't think that's a good idea." The nurse was trying to be as diplomatic as possible, though the fire in Nick's eyes left no room to doubt his determination. "Situations like this can be very distressing for loved ones, especially if there _has_ been damage."

"I don't want her to be alone right now." Nick protested, a finality in his voice that left no room for questioning. "I can take it, I promise."

"If you're sure." the nurse conceded. With little other choice in the matter, she led him down the corridor, taking enough turnings that Nick was certain he would need a map to find his way back out again. Then suddenly, she had pushed open the door to a private room, and through the gap, he could see her.

Isabelle was no longer deathly pale, though the shadows beneath her eyes remained fairly pronounced. She had wires connected all over her, but sat propped up against the pillows as if she were simply relaxing in bed at the weekend. This was not the woman who had been at Death's door just a day ago, surely.

"Sorry to interrupt, Doctor, but there's a visitor for Madame Latendresse." The nurse quickly stepped aside, allowing Nick to pass her, and within a second, his eyes had met Isabelle's. His heart was beating so fast in his chest that he thought he might collapse. Then she smiled.

"Do you know who this is, Isabelle?" the doctor asked, his pen poised above his jotter pad.

"His name is Nick." Isabelle stated, not missing a beat. Nick could feel the relief come over him like a wave.

"And who is he to you?" the doctor pressed, clearly switching tactics to take advantage of the new opportunity he had been presented with.

"How long have you got?" Her voice was so matter-of-fact that Nick could not help but chuckle, taking a seat in the visitor's chair by the bedside. In response to the doctor's raised eyebrow, Isabelle continued, her eyes not leaving Nick's. "Long story short, he's my son's father. We go way, way back."

The doctor quickly scribbled another line of notes, before folding over the cover of his pad and standing. "Very well, I think that's enough for now. You're doing great, as far as I can tell, and you probably want some time alone with Nick. Just call the nurse if you need anything."

"Thank you." Isabelle smiled, as the doctor closed the door behind him. When she turned back to Nick, her smile had faded somewhat. "Please don't say anything. I've talked to about three different officers already, but everything's a bit of a blur."

"Issy, I'm not here as a cop." Nick clarified quickly. He reached out his hand for hers, but quickly rethought it, allowing his palm to fall against the bedsheets. Not that much had changed. "That's not what you are to me. You're Issy first, Sergeant-Detective second; always have been, always will."

Isabelle looked down to where his hand rested at the edge of her blanket, she shifted her hand slightly so that it rested on top of his. They did not clutch at each other, the way they might have done once, but simply relished the surety that they were both together and fine. It did not seem like much to someone on the outside, a simple gesture which held so much hidden weight, but it was enough.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's probably the longest one I've done for this story, but I didn't want to cut off before Nick saw Issy. Next chapter- and next challenge- telling Theo. Please review!


	8. Truth

Chapter Eight

A/N: No reviewers.

Whether by fate or coincidence, Nick had a rare weekend off the two days that followed Isabelle's awakening, and he spent most of his time in her hospital room by her side, chattering about nothing for hours on end. It was easier than he had expected to keep it all a secret. Theo was staying at his apartment for the weekend, as usual, and his plans with Guillaume on Saturday meant Nick could visit Isabelle without having to invent an excuse for going out. It was a relief not to have to lie to his son, because his constant nerves would probably have given him away the moment he tried.

Sunday evening rolled around, and Nick hung up his cell phone with a sigh. It had been a message from one of the nurses at the hospital, confirming that Isabelle would be discharged the next morning. It was wonderful news, of course, confirmation that she was finally well again, but with that joy came a huge problem. Now, he had to tell Theo.

"Dad, have you seen my soccer jersey?" the boy called, emerging from his bedroom.

"Theo, you do not holler across the house." Nick chastised, and his son immediately looked down, his teenage version of an apology. "Besides, soccer isn't until Wednesday, why do you need it now?"

"Because I need to give Mom a chance to wash it." Theo reasoned, moving to the kitchen and sifting through a basket of clothes. He did not see his father wince, dragging his palm across his face for a moment.

"Theo, can you come and sit down please?" Nick asked, his voice already strained. The boy seemed to hear it, because he was quick to abandon the pile of clothes and take a seat on the sofa beside his father, his teeth pulling at the inside of his cheek.

"Dad, what's up?" Theo questioned quickly, his eyes bright with worry.

"I need to talk to you about your mom." Nick stated. He had wanted more time to think about how to phrase this, but the sudden look of panic on his son's face forced him to continue; at least he could reassure him that the worse had not happened. "Theo, she's in the hospital."

"What?" It was almost as if he could see Theo's heart breaking in his eyes. "What happened to her? Is she alright? Is she sick?"

"She _was_ sick," his father stressed, being sure to emphasise the past tense, not that it seemed to make the boy any calmer. "But she's not in any danger anymore. This is why I'm telling you this now, Theo, because she's being discharged tomorrow, and I need you to be ready. She's going to need looking after for a little while."

"What was wrong with her?" Theo asked, leaving barely a second after his father finished to ask another question. There were so many thoughts buzzing around in his head, he had to let some of them out.

Nick paused, sceptical of how many details he could share with his sixteen-year-old son. "It was hypothermia. Somehow, she ended up unconscious in a park on her way home from work, she hit her head. Me and Ben found her."

"Oh my God." Theo looked as if he might throw up, clasping his hand over his mouth and leaning forward onto his knees. Nick silently thanked God that he had not said anything about the mugger; who knew how much worse the boy would have reacted, had he known that Isabelle's illness was no accident? "Dad, hypothermia kills people. She could've…"

The teenager could not even bear to complete the thought, and Nick was quick to reach out, resting a firm hand on his son's shoulder. "But she didn't. She's fine, Theo, I promise. They wouldn't be letting her come home otherwise, right?"

Theo nodded, the logic enough to pacify him for a minute or two. The pair sat in silence for a while, Nick's hand passing comfortingly along his son's back. Theo did not cry, as he looked like he might have done earlier, but he looked as if he might never smile again. ' _At least Isabelle's coming back tomorrow,'_ Nick thought. ' _He'll be alright again once she's home.'_

"Dad, why didn't you tell me?" Theo whispered, so quiet that Nick could barely hear him. His eyes were still fixed on the floor in front of her. "She's my mom."

"I didn't want you to worry before we knew what was happening." the man answered, wincing a little. It was a question he had asked himself so many times, but Isabelle had reassured him that he had made the right call. "We didn't know what was going to happen with your mom, we didn't know how long it was going to take for her to recover. I just thought it would be wait to wait, until we knew what we were going to be dealing with."

Nick's careful choice of words could not conceal the meaning behind them. They had needed to wait until they knew whether Isabelle would survive. Theo seemed somewhat deflated by his father's explanation, but he nodded in understanding nonetheless.

"Tomorrow morning, I want you to go to school like usual." Nick stated firmly, breaking the silence once again. Immediately, Theo opened his mouth to protest, but his father did not give him the chance. "I'm not going to argue this, Theo, you're going. After school, you can go home to Mom's like usual. She'll be there when you get back."

"But what if she needs something, Dad?" Theo asked. Nick smiled at that; his son might have been a typical teenager, locking himself in his room with a games console for hours on end, but when it came to his mother, he would cut off his right arm to make sure she was alright.

"I'll be with her, Theo." Nick assured him. "She's not going to be on her own, I promise. I'll take care of her."

"I know." the boy answered, smiling for the first time since he had heard the news. There was something in his eyes, a kind of sage understanding, that Nick could not quite explain. Perhaps if he thought about it more, he would have caught the subtle glance Theo threw over his shoulder, to where a framed holiday photo of himself and his parents was hung on the wall.

Theo went off to bed soon after, though the sound of crashes and commanding voices suggested he had merely retreated to his games console again, and so Nick was left alone. He checked his messages on his cell phone for what seemed like the hundredth time, wondering if there had been any change at all.

"There's not going to be." he told himself, in a whisper so quiet even he could hardly hear it. "Issy's going to be fine."

A few days ago, that might have been an empty reassurance. But as Nick crossed into the kitchen to pick up the pile of clothes on the floor, putting aside a navy-blue jersey that Theo had clearly not been looking hard enough for, he could not help but smile. There was nothing empty in that reassurance anymore; it was just the truth.

A/N: I wanted to have a bit more Theo, and he needed to be told, so this is what came out of that. Hope you enjoyed and please review!


	9. Red Berry

Chapter Nine

A/N: No reviewers.

The moment the engine of the car was shut off, Nick leapt out of the driver's side door and ran to the house, turning the key in the lock and turning on the light in barely a few seconds. He had left Isabelle in the passenger seat, huddled under some blankets, because he wanted to make sure everything was ready before she got inside. Luckily enough, Theo had had the good sense to leave the heating on before he left for school.

"Dad." came a small voice from the staircase, and Nick had to bite back a curse. So much for school.

"Theo, what are you doing here?!" he exclaimed. The man had gotten up at a ridiculous hour that morning to make sure everything was ready for Isabelle's return home, and he had long since reached the end of his patience. "I told you, you were supposed to go to school, give Mom a chance to get settled at home."

"I know." The boy's eyes were downcast. "I'm sorry, I just… I really needed to see her. To make sure that she's really okay."

"Theo, when I give you an instruction, I expect you to listen to me!" Nick barked. His heart ached when his son flinched away from him, and so the police officer moderated his tone a little. "I just don't want Mom too overwhelmed, Theo- you get that, right?"

"And I won't get in the way, I promise." Theo answered. He stood tall once more now, the strength of his stance unmistakable. "But I'm going to stay. I want to see my mom."

Nick sighed, unsure whether to protest further and reinforce his stance as a parent or overrule himself for the sake of compassion. Luckily- or perhaps not so- the decision was taken from his hands, as the front door creaked open and Isabelle appeared from behind it.

"Mom!" Theo cried out, sprinting to the door and throwing his arms around the woman. The force of his arms sent his mother staggering backwards, almost falling through the open door, but luckily she managed to catch her hand on the doorframe before she fell. Unfortunately for her, Nick had seen the whole thing, and leapt into action.

"Theo, give her a second to get inside." Nick chastised, trying to keep his voice as even as he could. He was very used to handling delicate situations- he had seen far more of them than he liked to remember- but even he was shaking with apprehension. Most of the time, he would clock off in the evening and those situations would be out of his hands; he had never had to face one beneath his own roof.

Instinctively, Nick rested a hand on Isabelle's back, leading her inside, but she swatted him away, sighing in frustration. Isabelle had always been a proud woman; it seemed that even hypothermia could not take that away from her. "Nick, I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own."

"Just let me fuss a little bit." Nick fought back, replacing his arm. "It'll make me feel a lot better."

If he had known that card would work, he would have played it a long time ago, because Isabelle did not argue against his help again. She let him support her weight a little as he let her over to the settee and did not complain as he wrapped layer after layer of blankets over her. He might have seen it as progress between them, had her eyes not already begun to droop. She had exerted herself far more that morning than she had done in half a week, and she was clearly too exhausted to fight back.

Once Isabelle was settled on the settee, Theo raced to her side, burying his face in her shoulder to hide his tears. It was one of the habits he had inherited from his mother; he never wanted anyone to see him cry.

"Theo, I'm okay." the woman whispered, extracting her arms from the blankets to wrap her son in an embrace. "It's alright now, I promise. Nothing's going to happen."

It took the boy almost ten minutes to calm completely, as if he was a tiny child in a thunderstorm once more. He nuzzled his face into the blankets at her shoulder, using the material to wipe the last remnants of tears from his cheeks, then stood. "Mom, can I get you a coffee? Or something?"

Isabelle opened her mouth to answer, but Nick got there first. "Theo, no coffee. She needs sleep."

Instantly, Theo's face fell again. Isabelle looked up at him, her expression much softer than his father's as she smiled gently. "There should be some red berry tea left in the cupboard, I bought a pack a couple of months ago. I'd love some of that, if you're offering."

"Yeah, of course." Theo nodded, and darted into the kitchen. Isabelle, meanwhile, turned her attentions back to her ex-husband.

"Nick, you don't need to be so hard on him." the brunette chastised, tucking the blankets more securely around herself. It was more of an excuse not to look at him than it was something she really had to do, and they both knew it. "He's only trying to help."

"He needs to know what he's doing." Nick reasoned, moving a step closer. For a moment, he considered crossing his arms over his chest, but he caught himself before he moved. Just as well, given the increasingly irritated expression on Isabelle's face. "Issy, fact is, you're going to need looking after for a while. You're meant to rest for a week, even two, just to get back to normal."

"Nick, I can't ask that of Theo." she protested, her eyes flitting towards the kitchen. "He'll worry himself sick under that kind of pressure. And what about school?"

"I never said it was going to be Theo." Nick contradicted. Finally, Isabelle looked up at him, her frown softening. "If it's okay with you, I was going to move in for a couple of weeks. Then I can take care of you; that way, Theo doesn't have to."

Isabelle let out a heavy sigh, the sound that had always screamed of apology to his ears. "I didn't want to have to ask you. It's not fair, really."

"Of course it's fair." Nick answered, and that was the final word of the argument. "Issy first, Sergeant-Detective second, remember?"

At that moment, Theo emerged from the kitchen again, carrying a steaming mug that smelled deliciously of strawberries. His eyes flitted between his parents as he handed the mug to Isabelle, holding it a little longer than usual to make sure she had it securely in her hand. Finally, taking his lead from his parents' expressions, the boy began to smile.

A/N: I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know that Issy still really loves and respects Nick, but I get the impression she would not have been too pleased to have to ask him for help in her personal life before it was offered. And so this scene was born! Please review!


	10. Promises

Chapter Ten

A/N: Thank you so much to chosenbap for reviewing the last chapter!

The next morning rolled around and Nick was woken suddenly by the screech of the alarm on his cell phone. He groaned as he sat up on the settee, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and, eventually, casting off the blankets. He had to return to work at some point, and that point was going to be today; he only wished he had managed a little more sleep.

It had taken Nick until the early hours of the morning to finally drift off, a fact that had very little to do with the relatively comfortable settee that would be his bed for the next fortnight. Every time he came close to falling asleep, his pulse began to race again, and he went upstairs to check on Isabelle, make sure she was alright. She was perfectly fine every time he checked, sleeping heavily enough that he never woke her, but still the fears would not leave him be.

Eight o'clock was a relatively comfortable time for a police officer to wake, though not, it seemed, for a teenager. Nick's first port of call was to throw open his son's curtains, whispering various threats of confiscating his video games if he did not ready himself for school without a racket. Theo was an exceptionally caring boy, but not so early in the morning.

Reluctantly, Nick ducked his head into the next room, surprised to find Isabelle sat up in bed, engrossed in her latest thriller novel. The woman really never could leave the job at the door, rather like him.

"I tried to keep him quiet." Nick announced by way of an apology, running his fingers through the short hair at the back of his neck.

"It's alright." Isabelle answered, marking her page and putting the book aside. "I've been awake for a couple of hours, actually. Can't kick the habit."

However tempted he was to comment, Nick held his tongue. He leant against the doorframe, a slight smirk on his lips, watching as Isabelle gave in to the cold and pulling her blanket more tightly around herself. "I'm going to get Theo off to school, if you fancy a lie-in."

"I don't think I've been out of bed for more than an hour this whole week." the woman complained, quick to push the blanket down again. "Sleep isn't high on my list of priorities."

"Well, we're going to have to agree to disagree on that one." Nick sighed, not willing to start an argument so early. Isabelle sighed gently. Nick thought he could see her cross her arms beneath the blanket; it would not have surprised him.

What did surprise him was that Isabelle broke first. He could probably count the number of times that had happened on both his hands. "Alright, I'll rest. I promise."

"Thank you." Nick's thanks was sincere, and he turned to walk out the door, hearing that Theo had finally- if very noisily- made his way downstairs.

"I'll do it," Isabelle piped up again. Nick sighed. That was more like it; he would have been worried if he had won an argument that easily. "Just… can I rest on the couch instead? At least that way I've got the TV to distract me from my own head."

Nick thought for a moment. Really, she should have been resting in bed, she would get better quicker that way. But she had already conceded this much… "Alright, deal."

Isabelle's face broke into a smile, and Nick could not help but smile back at her. Over the past week, he had feared so many times that he would never see that smile again. He did not think he would ever begrudge it again.

It took a minute or two to tackle the stairs, Nick insisted on supporting his ex-wife's weight through every step. Once again, she let him with no complaint; it was becoming a slightly alarming pattern now.

"You sure you're going to be okay on your own?" Nick checked, pulling on his overcoat. He could see Isabelle roll her eyes from across the room. "Alright, I got it. But I'm coming back at lunch to check on you. Not debatable."

"Fine." the woman allowed. They held each other's eyes for a few seconds before she nodded towards the door. "You better get going. Don't want to be late on your first day back."

The thought of being pulled into Gendron's office once again was enough to secure Nick's agreement, and he nodded. "I'll see you at lunch. Try and get some sleep."

"I'll try." she affirmed, for what felt like the hundredth time. A minute later, Nick was gone and the house was silent.

Nick did arrive late to work- as he had expected- but by coincidence, so did Gendron. The commander did not enter the morning briefing until it was almost done, and the junior officer could not help but wonder if his luck was finally changing.

The first four hours of the shift went by in a blur of issuing letters, parking tickets and petty domestic disputes, so fast that Ben had to remind him their break had arrived, grabbing the pair of them a sandwich each from a nearby deli, to make sure that his partner ate something. It was an extraordinarily kind gesture, but the country cop laughed it off. "You're no good to me passed out on the floor."

When the two of them pulled up outside the house, Ben volunteered to mind the car. He claimed it was a precaution, in case someone saw the police logo and needed help; Nick suspected that was not the real reason, but he was grateful nonetheless.

The first thing he noticed was the quiet. That was a good sign. Perhaps Isabelle had actually listened to him for once and gone to sleep on the couch. But when he looked across to where the woman lay, Nick could not help but sigh. True, she was asleep, exactly as she had promised, but sat upright with her neck tilting to one side, surrounded by an abundance of official-looking paperwork that must have been hidden away in the drawer of the coffee table.

"Jesus, Issy," the man whispered under his breath. "You can never just let it go."

He ought to have woken her- she could not be comfortable slumped over like that- but something told him to leave it be. One way or another, she was sleeping, he had got his way, everything was alright.

Still, the man crossed the room, pulling the blanket a little more securely around her, making sure he did not disturb the papers. It was not the first time this had happened. In fifteen years of marriage, half of which spent in a white shirt, Isabelle had often fallen asleep mid-task, and he had never told her he knew. Something told him she knew anyway- there was always a look on her face the next time she saw him- but it was an unspoken rule between them.

' _This is different now.'_ he told himself. ' _She was your wife then. Now she's the mother of your son, you're looking after her because of Theo. Things can't be like they were.'_

But it was not enough to overcome the temptation, and so Nick reached out to stroke the hair from Isabelle's forehead, watching her eyelids flutter as she dreamt.

After a few moments, Isabelle began to stir, and her ex-husband pulled his hand away, standing from where he had crouched by her side and making his way to the door, back to his partner and the deli sandwich he proffered from the window of the squad car as soon as the door opened.

When Nick returned home that night, Isabelle was still sat on the couch. All the papers had been tidied away out of sight, and she was cradling a steaming mug in both hands. They did not speak beyond the obligatory small talk, the hellos and the goodnights, but they did not need to. The look on Isabelle's face spoke a thousand words.

A/N: I realise this chapter was a bit weird, but I just wanted a bit of an affectionate moment, even if it is a bit one-sided. More to come, please review!


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